My Favorite Travel Clothes

When we travel we try to bring as little as possible, while still making our lives comfortable.

Though if I’m honest, I push myself pretty hard to reeeeeeeeally only bring what is necessary and very little.

Still, the funny thing is that my backpack and purse are heavy!

When I have a long day of travel, my shoulders and neck ache like a mother-f-ckr, and I vow every time to prune more. But, it got to the point where there just wasn’t anything else I could take out.

I had to come up with a better solution.

One of the things that was hard about my travel day was the heaviness of my purse.

This is where I was carrying my iPad (pro), iPhone, wallet, passports, Kindle, pen, paper, and lip balm. I used a small purse so I’d comply with (ridiculous) restrictions on budget airlines. Oh, they let you bring a personal item, but that item better be Alice-in-Wonderland small.

With that in mind, I have a (carry-on) backpack stuffed with clothes, documents, toiletries (see my favorite travel shampoo here!), and my laptop. This means I bring a backpack that goes under the seat in front of me and my small personal item purse sits on my lap.

It’s true I can put the iPad in the backpack with the laptop, but I’ll be honest… Once I get that Minaal backpack shoved under the seat in front of me on the airplane, the last thing I want to do is drag it out, unzip it, and dig out my iPad. It’s in there so securely that it’d be a huge pain in the ass to get it out – even on a 14 hour flight. (Ok, I’m a tad lazy maybe.)

As I mentioned though, they’re heavy when stuffed into a purse that I’m wearing across my body.That’s what I did for 6 months of traveling, and I didn’t enjoy it.

I got to thinking.

The budget airlines are real sticklers about the size of a carry-on and the personal item. You don’t want to mess with them. They will overcharge the shit out of you if you end up having to pay for (baggage size) mistakes once you’re at the airport.

It’s not just the size though!

Get this! They can ding you on the weight of it, too… FOR CARRY-ON! (Mine is always just about overweight. Luckily they don’t test me every time.) But, I swear, each time I approach the counter, I’m sweating bullets that they want to weigh my carry-on. Trying to outsmart them, I wear my carry-on and personal items like they’re light as a feather.

I don’t like not knowing though. Who knows if my scale is going to be exactly the same as theirs?

And, I don’t like paying more to bring my size-approved carry-on bag, but because it weighs more, I have to pay more.

So, what did I do?

I bought travel clothing that allows me to wear a lot of what I put in my purse… on my body.

How cool is that? Wearing my kindle? Yup!

It’s brilliant, comfy, and it’s by a popular company called Scott eVest.

Here’s the short of it.

The clothing (for men and women including items like jackets / shirts / pants / etc) is designed for travel and each piece comes with a bunch of cool, perfectly placed pockets.

But, not just any pockets.This clothing is good enough for a spy.

In fact, I call it my spy clothing because of the hidden pockets. For example, the “denim” shirt you will see me wearing in the video has the two normal pockets on the chest, but there are three more pockets hidden in the shirt where I hide / carry my wallet, phone, and lipstick (or keys). Brilliant.

The jacket featured in the video is not only warm and pretty (it’s blinged out in rhinestones on the zippers – couldn’t help myself I had to get that one), it has a gazillion pockets inside.

Scott eVest boasts that their clothing has the pockets strategically placed so they’re not only hidden from pickpockets, but you get a nice weight distribution when they’re stuffed with stuff.

Everyone loves them whether they travel or not! In fact, this clothing is perfect for college students, too. It’s a great way to stay organized and take some of the load from the backpack. Or heck, as a woman you can easily go purse-free, while walking around campus.

Great when not traveling, too!

Scott eVest travel clothing is perfect for daily wearing, especially for moms who want to be hands-free. On non-travel days you’ll find me wearing these travel clothes to the market, museum, and even just for my daily walk so I can strategically don my iPhone, wallet, and more!

We walk a lot while living in Porto, Portugal. Just yesterday we went to a cafe to meet a fellow digital nomad. I thought Kamea might enjoy Netflix while we adults talk about making a living as digital nomads, so I packed her iPad. In my jacket.

Yeah, we went hands-free to the cafe while I “wore” her iPad, iPod, headphones, plus my iPhone, wallet, change purse, lip balm. I even stuffed a shopping bag in another pocket. I could’ve packed that all easily in my purse, but then my posture gets jacked as it weighs on one shoulder. Plus, I’m not really hands-free either.

And of course, that’s not spy-sh*t.

But wait, there’s more: I’m more relaxed wearing it.

These travel clothing items keep you safer from pickpockets when roaming the streets of pickpocket-heavy cities. I’ve got enough shit to fill my brain (things like don’t get lost, don’t lose your kid, when are we stopping for coffee, and I gotta pee). I don’t have the bandwidth to cover my ass from pickpockets, too. Scott eVest clothing lets me relax more.

The hands-free-ness I get when wearing this clothing even on non-travel days is invaluable. Everything goes in my pockets and I don’t need to carry a purse. Come on, ladies, WE LOVE THAT!

Travel Clothing Costs

It’s not cheap though. I wondered if it would be worth the price – I’m really of a frugal mind. I thought about buying the jacket shown in the video for over a year before I did, let alone three items!

However, the moment the items arrived and I tried them on… relief washed over me because I loved them so much.

Boy, am I glad I bought these items. They’re my favorites in every way.

The pants are more comfortable than I could’ve imagined. Super cute, too!

They’re made of soft material and the stretch of the cloth gives. Plus, I love the extra comfy, wide waist band. I wear them on travel days and, frankly, most every other day. Going to the market I don’t bother with carrying a purse because I fill the pockets.

The first time I loaded the sides of the pant legs I felt like Lara Croft Tomb Raider thinking I was packing weapons there.

image credit: http://boomstickcomics.com

But, nope, it was just a wallet and my cell phone.

Back to EASIER travel days.

This clothing was spot-on for traveling and accomplishing what I needed it to. I offloaded some items from the purse to my cute jacket and swanky pants. This not only made me feel more secure because I was wearing these important things (passports, phone, wallet, etc), but I had the weight nicely distributed so my neck was no longer aching.

Everything was accessible and comfortable. I no longer loathe long travel days.

In Conclusion

I love my Scott eVest shirt, pants, and jacket. If I had the room and money, I’d have also bought a vest because that would be perfect for days that aren’t cold. However, I just don’t want to carry more. I’m hopeful that wearing the pants and the shirt will do the trick in warmer weather. At a minimum, the shirt will work to hold a couple of things.

I call this my spy-clothing, but Kamea claims my spy-clothing isn’t spy-clothing because I keep telling people about it. She might be right so let’s keep it a secret between you and me.

Honorable Mention: Tieks shoes

Tieks: Comfy and gorgeous ballet-flats for travel

Tieks are my favorite travel shoes. They’re beautiful and scrumptious leather ballet-flats. They’re also not cheap (thanks to mom for buying me a pair!). But they’re quality is unsurpassed, and they’re fucking perfect for travel.

I wear them all day and my feet never hurt. They uniquely fold, which makes them easy to pack, though I usually opt to wear them on travel days. This way I easily slip them on and off when going through airport security.

My favorite travel shoes: Tieks

I opted for the black so they’d go with everything, as I was only getting one pair.

But, whoa nellie(!), there are a ton of fun colors from which to choose. Good luck!

Travel Clothes Conclusion (for real this time)

For now, this includes my favorite travel clothes: Scott eVest items and Tieks.

I’ll continue to share my other travel favorites over time so stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to email or tweet to me (or message on Instagram) if you have questions.

A word on wool:

I’ve dabbled in the “smart wool world” that many travelers love. Sadly, I’m not thrilled with the feel of the items (yes, still a bit itchy). However, I love how they don’t get stinky (important when you wash so infrequently). I also love how quickly they dry (important for humid climates where there isn’t a clothes dryer machine).

For awhile I had a wool thermal when we traveled, but I left it in Arizona this last visit because it wasn’t my favorite thing to wear. TIP: When you travel, don’t bring things you don’t adore wearing (or you simply won’t wear them)!

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About Kristen Suzanne

I’m an author traveling the world on a multi-year odyssey to experience other cultures, and stay fit while I stuff my face with their food. (For now, meat anyway). I write about food, fitness, and our experiences as a digital nomad family.